FAIRBANKS — A Fairbanks man is accused of taking a security guard’s gun and using it to rob him.

Jarrid Bloom, 24, formerly of Nevada, has been charged with eight felonies, including robbery, burglary, weapons misconduct, theft, assault and tampering with evidence.

The 47-year-old security guard was patrolling the federal courthouse parking garage about 2:30 a.m. Tuesday when he spotted a man on the first floor who appeared to be looking for unlocked cars.

The suspect fled to the second floor, then the third floor of the garage on a bike.

When he returned to the second floor, the security guard drew his gun and began searching the man, locating a tinfoil cube that might have contained illegal drugs, Fairbanks police Lt. Tara Tippett said.

At that point a fight ensued, with the suspect getting on top of the security guard and punching him six to eight times in the face, according to the police report. The security guard fought back with an ASP baton, a collapsible baton commonly used by law enforcement, striking the assailant in the thigh.

The man then began reaching for the security guard’s belt, unsnapping his magazine and handgun. The suspect was able to knock the baton away, and the two began struggling for the weapon, Tippett said.

When the suspect grabbed the gun from the guard, he demanded the guard’s baton and wallet, pointed the gun at a vehicle in the garage and fired once, puncturing the tire of a car, Tippett said.

The victim was ordered to wait 40 seconds before doing anything, and when he was sure that the assailant was gone, the security guard called police, Tippett said. However, by that time police had already received a call from someone who had heard a man shouting and the sound of the gunshot.

“We’re really glad that someone called, and we were able to put everything together right away,” Tippett said.

Police contacted Bloom fleeing on a bike outside of the courthouse before they received the security guard’s call. Bloom had the baton in his pocket, and the gun was located nearby.

The security guard sustained serious injuries in the scuffle. His left eye was swollen shut and his eye socket might have been fractured. He was treated at Fairbanks Memorial Hospital and released later in the morning, Tippett said. <snip>

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So then…. from what information is available here, what is everyone’s take on the security guard’s prime failure here?

My take is that mindset was his biggest problem. He appeared to go way beyond the scope of his duties and training, and it seemed as though he thought that he could handle everything himself. From what little I know, he’s supposed to call the police first and foremost (it seemed as though he would have had time), and only apprehend or confront intruders as a last resort. But I’ll assume for a moment that maybe he didn’t have the time to call the police and that he felt confronting the intruder was the only option to him. He drew his gun, and it sounds like the intruder did surrender. So then why was he searching the intruder? Why didn’t he command the intruder to get on the ground with his hands on his head, call the cops or any other help that’s available, and maintain a vigil over the intruder without getting within arms reach? By getting within arms reach to search the man, he not only risks having his weapon taken but he’s less able to keep an eye out for any friends the intruder may have lurking around. Overconfidence in his own abilities and underestimation of his opponent was his biggest failure IMO. Skillset was a lesser failure; not necessarily that he wasn’t skilled enough to be a security guard, only that he likely didn’t possess the skillset required to handle the additional tasks he was taking on. I guess that goes back to mindset though, doesn’t it? Almost seems to strengthen the stereotype of the overeager security guard pretending he/she is a cop…